Table or stand.



No. 672,573. Patented Apr. 23, MN.

' H. T. SIDWAY.

TABLE 08 STAND.

Application filed Aug. 20, 1900.)

(No Model.)

WI M55555 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

HENRY T. SIDWAY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TABLE OR STAN D.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 672,573, dated April 23, 1901. Application filed August 20, 1900. Serial No. 27,436. (No model.)

T0 at whom 2375 may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY T. SIDWAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tables or Stands, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of the invention are to construct a table or stand which can be readily and quickly adjusted to have its top located in different planes of height and set and held so as to be in a straight horizontal plane or level or turned and set and held at any desired angle of inclination for any purpose required of the table or stand without interfering with its use, to enable the table to be folded so as to occupy but a small space when set away and out of use, toconstruct the several members so that the table or stand can be taken apart or knocked down or folded up for shipment or storage or other purposes, and to improve generally the construction and operation of the stand as a whole and its component parts. The invention consists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter .described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l. is a side elevation with the end standard or upright broken in two and showing a rigid'connection between the slidable section of the standard or upright and the horizontal rod or tube on which the top of the table is mounted; Fig. 2, a side elevation with the end standard or upright broken in two and showing a folding connection for the slidable section of the end standard and the horizontal rod or tube on which the table is mounted; Fig. 3, an end view of the table-top, showing the top on an incline with the rest attached to its side edge; Fig. 4, a detail showinga bottom view of the table-top and the manner of attaching the side rest thereto; Fig. 5, a detail, being a top or plan View of one member of the connection for the end standard or upright and the cross-piece or end head of the base; Fig. 6, a side elevation of the connection shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 7, a side elevation of the ratchet or looking disk or plate for setting and looking the top of the table at dififerent inclinations; Fig. 8, a sectional elevation of the looking disk or plate shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 9, a side elevation of the cross-piece or end head of the base receiving the end standard or upright; Fig. 10, a detail, beinga side elevation, with one end broken off, of the other crosspiece or end head of the base; and Fig. 11, a detail, being a side elevation of the adjusting-plate for leveling the table-top.

The table or stand has a top A, made of wood or other suitable material and of any desired dimensions as to length and width. The top in the construction shown has on its under side cross pieces or strips a and a, which furnish the bearings by which the table-top is mounted on its sustaining or carrying rod or bar. A rest a for the table, when the top is set inclined, is provided, which rest may be a strip of wood or other suitable material attached to a support or connecting-piece 6%, made of wire, as. shown, in the form of a loop, which loop when the rest is in place passes through a strap of, secured to the under side of the table-top for its free end to be caught and held by a clamping-spring a attached to the under side of the table-top, so that when the support or connecting-piece for the rest is passed through the strap its closed end will be caught and held by the clamping-spring holding the rest firmly in position against the edge of the table-top. The rest when not in use is to be slipped beneath the table out of the Way, and for this purpose the strip a has a slot for the passage of the support or connection a which is entered throughthe slot and its end caught and held by a catch-spring a securing the rest beneath the table.

The table-top is mounted on a horizontal rod or tube D,which passes through the crosspiece or head a and enters the cross-piece or head a, so that the top is mounted on the rod or tube and free to turn thereon. Around the rod or tube at one end and between the cross-piece or head a and a pin d is a coiled spring d, which acts to force the table-top outward on the rod or tube, and secured to the cross-piece or head a, is an annular disk or plate 0Z having a rim provided with a se ries of notches or openings 0, which receive a stop pin or lug d on the rod or tube D, so that when the pin or lug is engaged. with a notch or opening the table-top will be locked and held in whatever position it may be turned on the rod or tube. The disk or an-.

' the construction shown carries the locking disk or plateaway from the pin or lug, so as to disengage the locking devices, and when disengaged the table-top can be turned either way on the rod or tube until the inclination desired is reached, when with the endwise return 015 the top the spring 01 will act and reengage the locking disk or plate and the pin or lug holding the table-top at its set inclination or in alevel position, according to the adjustment of the top.

The table-top and'the sustaining or carrying rod or tube on which it is mounted are supported from an extensible end standard or upright having a fixed main tubular section B and a sliding section E. The upper end or top of the fixed section has in the arrangement shown a head I), having a set-screw b, by means of which the sliding section can be locked in its adjusted position. The upper end of the sliding section E, as shown in Fig. 1, has a gooseneck-coupling e in'one continuous piece, entered at one end onto the end of the sliding section and receiving into its other end the end of the rod or tube D, which when entered is locked therein by a set-screw or bolt 6. This construction iurnishes a rigid connection between the end standard or upright and the sustaining or carrying rod or tube of the table-top; but instead of a rigid connection a'foldin'g connection can be used, as shown in Fig. 2, in which the gooseneck is made of two members 6 and e with a clamping bolt or screw 6 locking the ends of the two members together. The member e is secured to the end of the sliding section E, and the member a receives the end of the rod or tube D, which when inserted is held therein by the set screw or bolt 6', as in the construction of Fig. l. The loosening of the clamping bolt or screw 6 permits the upper member a to be turneddown, so that by swinging the sliding section E of the end standard or upright around, as shown-by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, the table-top can be dropped, so as to occupy a substantially vertical positiomand folded against the fixed sectionof the end standard or upright, thereby occupying but a small space'i The lower end of the fixed section of the end standard or upright is entered into a socket at the center of a base-head or crosspiece F, which has a centralihole or opening to receive the end of the base rod or tube 0, secured therein by a set-screw or bolt f, and the outer end of the base rod or tube is entered into an opening at the, center of the other base-head or cross-piece G and is held therein by a set-screw or bolt. The base-head or cross-piece G in the arrangement shown is provided at each end with a caster wheel or the table or stand a free travel on the casters or rollers. The construction shown in Fig. 1 has a rigid or fixed connection between the base rod or tube 0 and the base-head or crosspiece F, which prevents the folding of the table; but such folding can be secured by providing a folding connection between the rod and the base-head or cross-piece. Such folding connection is shown in Fig. 2 and the detail Figs. 5 and 6 and consists of a socket g to receive the end of the base rod or tube, with a flange g having a serrated face which cooperates with a corresponding flange on the base-head or cross-piece F, which flanges when engaged or interlocked are held by a clamping screw or bolt 9, forming a rigid connection when clamped together. The loosening of the clamping screw or bolt g disengages the interlocking flanges, so that the base rod or tube and the outer base-head or cross-piece can be raised into a vertical position, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig; 2, and when thus raised, with the table-top dropped into a vertical position, the table as a whole is folded into a'very compact form to occupy but little space when set away or out of use. r

The sustaining or carrying rod or tube may occasionally have a slight inclination or be out of level horizontally, in which case the table-top would have a corresponding out-oflevel relation, and to remedy this defect a guide-plate H (shown in Fig. 11) is attached to the cross-piece a and has an opening h for the end of the rod or tube with slots h in its body for the passage of the attachingscrews h so that by raising or lowering theplate the table-top will be given acorresponding set, and thereby the level can be made adjustable for the top to be maintained at an actual level or at a slight inclination therefrom, as desired.

The construction shown in Fig. 1 enables the parts or members to be separated for shipping or storage purposes, as the top and its sustaining or carrying rod can be detached from the end standard or upright by loosening the set screw or bolt e. The sliding section of the end standard or upright can be entered into the fixed section to its limit and locked in that position by the set screw or bolt bv or removed entirely from the fixed section., The end standard or upright can be removed from its receiving-socket in thebasehead or cross-piece F, and the baseheads or cross-pieces F and G can be detached from the base rod or tube by unloosening the respective set-screws. This separates the component parts of the table, so that the table as a whole can be packed in a space of the dimensions of the table-top as to length and Width, with a slightly-increased depth where the table-top is of a length equal to or greater than the length of the fixed section of the end erases standard or upright. Theseparable parts or members of the table constructed as in Fig.

1 can be readily assembled by inserting the end of the rod or tube D into the coupling or connection e and looking it therein by the set-screw e, inserting the end standard or upright in its socket in the base-header crosswbase-head or cross-piece upward, as already described.

I j H The construction of the table or stand as a whole is simple, and the table or stand so constructed isone which permits the top to g; be set level or swung or turned to an inclination by disengaging the clutch between the it i stable-top and its sustaining or carrying rod .1 f

or tube, permitting the top to be turned or swung to any angle of inclination desiredor i to be set horizontally. level or be set in a vertical plane. The table-top can be projected over a bed, lounge,or reclining-chair, where the construction of the bed, lounge, or re- 1 clining-chair is one which permits the base of the table to pass thereunder.

The top can be set at an inclination and the rest attached to its edge, changing the table or stand, so

that it can be used for a book rest or a musicstand or any other purpose for which the construction is applicable. The adjustmentcan be readily and quickly made as to height by loosening the clamping belt or screw of the end standard or upright and adjusting the movable section thereof as required and then tightening the clamping screw or bolt, and

when not in use the table-top, if of the construction shown in Fig. 1, can be turned so as to occupy a vertical position, in which condition it can he slipped behind the headboard of a bed or against the footboard thereof or be placed close to the wall or otherwise.

s It will thus be seen that the table or stand can be manipulated so as to have its top occupy different positions as to inclination and different positions as to height, and the table I can be used over another piece of furniture a top, cross-pieces on the under side of and intermediate the center and the ends of the table-top, a horizontal rod or tube on which the cross pieces are pivotally and slidably mounted, and a clutchconnection between j the top and the horizontal rod or tube, one section of the clutch connection attached to a cross-piece and surrounding the rod or tube and the other section of the clutch connection carried by and having a fixed relation on the rod or tube, for setting and holding the top in an adjusted position, substantially as described.

2. The combination in a table or stand, of a top, cross-pieces on the under side of and intermediate the center and the ends of the table-top, a horizontal rod or tube on which the crosspieces are pivotally and slidably mounted, a clutch connection between the top and the rod or tube, one section of the clutch connection attached to a cross-piece and surrounding the rodor tube and the other section of the clutch connection carried by and having a fixed relation on the rod or tube, and a spring engaged with a cross-piece of the table-top and with the rod or tube for maintaining the engagement of the clutch connection, substantially as described.

3. The combination in a table or stand, of a top, cross-pieces on the under side of and intermediate the center and the ends of the table-top, a horizontal rod or tube on which the cross-pieces are pivotally and slidably mounted, a disk or plate attached to a crosspiece and surrounding the rod or tube and having an annular rim provided with recesses, and a catch having a fixed relation on the rod or tube, engaging the recesses of the annular rim, for setting and holding the top in an adjusted position, substantially as described.

4. The combination in a table or stand, of a top, cross-pieces on the under side of and intermediate the center and the ends of the table-top, a horizontal rod or tube on which the cross pieces are pivotally and slidably .mounled, a disk or plate attached to the crosspiece arranged near the inner end of the table-top and surrounding the rod or tube and having an annular rim provided with recesses, a catch having a fixed relation on the rod or tube, engaging the recesses in the annular rim, and a spring surrounding the rod or tube, engaged with the cross piece arranged near the outer end of the table-top and with a pin on the rod or tube and operating to hold the annular rim and the catch in engagement, substantially as described.

5. The combination in a table or stand, of a top, a horizontal rod or tube on which the top is pivotally mounted to swing or turn, a cross-piece on the under side of the table-top and an adjustable plate on the cross-piece engaging the rod or tube for adjusting the table-top to an actual level or otherwise, substantially as described.

6. The combination in a table or stand, of a top, cross-pieces on the under side of and intermediate the center and the ends of the table-top, a horizontal rod or tube on which the cross-pieces are pivotally and slidably mounted, a clutch connection between the rod or tube and the table-top, comprising an annular rim having recesses and attached to the cross-piece arranged near the inner end of the table-top and surrounding the rod or detachably entered thereinto and locked and tube, and a projecting catch on the rod or tube engaging the recesses of the annular rim, a vertical end standard or upright, and an elbow fixed on the upper end of the standard or upright and having the horizontal rod or tube detachably entered thereinto and locked and held therein, substantially as described.

7 The combination in a table or stand, of a top, cross-pieces on the under side of and intermediate the center and the ends of the table-top, a horizontal rod or tube on wh ch the cross-pieces are pivotally and slidably mounted, a clutch connection between the rod or tube and the table-top, comprisingan annular rim having'recesses and attached to the cross-piece arranged near the inner end.

of the table-top and surrounding the rod or tube, and aprojecting catch on the rod or tube engaging the recesses of the annular rim, a vertical end standard or upright, an elbow fixed on the upper end of the standard or upright and having the horizontal rod or tube held therein,a base having at each end a head or cross-piece in one of which the end standard or uprightis supported, and a horizontal bottom rod detachcbly connecting the heads one to the other, substantially as described.

8. The combination in a table or stand, of a top, cross-pieces on the under side of I and intermediate the center and the ends of the table'top, a horizontal rod or tube on which the cross-pieces are pivotally and slidably mounted, a clutch connection between the rod or tube and the table-top, comprising an annular rim having recesses and attached to the cross-piece arranged near. the inner end of the table-top and surrounding the rod or tube and a projecting catch on the rod or tube engaging the recesses of the annular rim, a vertical end standard or upright, an elbow fi-Xed on the upper end of the standard or up right, a socket cross pivotally attached to the elbow and having the horizontal rod or tube detachably entered thereinto and locked and held therein,a base having at each end a head or cross-piece in one of which the end standard or upright is supported, and a horizontal bottom rod detachably connecting the heads one to the other, sebstantially as described.

9. The combination in a table or stand, of a top, cross-pieces on the under side of and intermediate the center and the ends of the table-top, a horizontal rod or tube on which the cross-pieces are pivotally and slidably mounted, a clutch connection between the rod or tube and the table-top, comprising an annular rim having recesses and attached to the cross-piece arranged near the inner end of the table-top and surrounding the rod or tube and'a projecting catch on the rod .or i

the other, and a socket connecting one end of the bottom rod witha head or cross-piece, substantially as described.

HENRY T. SIDWAY.

Witnesses:

THOMAS A. BANNING, THOMAS B. MCGREGOR. 

